U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he is directing federal agencies to reopen and drastically expand Alcatraz, the infamous island prison that once held America’s most dangerous criminals but has been closed since 1963.

In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump framed the move as part of a broader push to clamp down on violent crime and repeat offenders, declaring:

“For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders… That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

He continued, “That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.”

Historic Landmark or Prison Fortress?

Alcatraz, often dubbed “The Rock,” sits on an island in San Francisco Bay and was once known as the most escape-proof prison in the United States. It housed notorious criminals such as Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly before being closed due to deteriorating infrastructure and excessive operating costs.

The island is now a major tourist attraction managed by the National Park Service and protected as a national historic landmark. Trump’s proposal would require the federal government to reclaim and repurpose the island, a move that legal and logistical experts say would be both enormously expensive and highly contentious.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes Alcatraz, dismissed the plan outright. “It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

High Costs, Legal Hurdles

Experts warn that modernizing Alcatraz would come with an astronomical price tag, especially considering that the Bureau of Prisons has been shuttering facilities across the country due to similar infrastructure issues. The original prison closed in 1963 largely because the cost of transporting supplies, food, water, fuel, to the remote island was unsustainable.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the agency “will comply with all presidential orders,” but offered no comment on the practicality of reopening a facility now under the control of the National Park Service.

A Broader, More Radical Agenda

Trump’s Alcatraz announcement is just the latest in a series of extreme proposals aimed at reshaping America’s criminal justice and detention systems. He recently suggested sending suspected gang members to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, a move widely condemned by legal scholars for violating due process rights.

He has also floated the idea of expanding the detention center at Guantánamo Bay to house up to 30,000 of what he called the “worst criminal aliens,” further igniting debate over the constitutionality and human rights implications of his proposals.

The Rock’s Dark History

Alcatraz operated as a federal prison from 1934 to 1963. Surrounded by freezing Pacific waters and treacherous currents, it was considered inescapable. In nearly three decades, 36 inmates attempted to flee in 14 separate incidents. Most were caught or perished, but the mysterious 1962 escape by brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris remains unresolved and inspired the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz.

Reopening the prison would mean revisiting that grim legacy and for many, the idea of using such a site again in the 21st century feels less like justice and more like political theater.

As Trump’s order moves forward, questions remain: Can a national park be transformed back into a maximum-security prison? Will taxpayers foot the bill for reviving a relic of a harsher penal era? And most crucially, will it make Americans safer, or simply stir more division?

The nation and the world will be watching.